Comments (35)

I'm 5'11 251 lbs, down from 276 lbs. Like you I gained while breastfeeding. What is motivating me is also the need to look and feel sexy despite my husband reassuring me over and over again. I need to feel it for myself and at this weight it's just not possible for me.

I'm losing the weight by eating a very low carb, high in protein diet with a ton of veggies and tracking everything on My Fitness Pal. I'm also weight training. Not doing a whole lot of cardo until I get some more weight off to prevent joints from damaging even further.

I don't put a ton of stock in it either, but generally speaking, if you're of average build (not super muscular), then it will give you a pretty good general idea of where your healthy range is.

And that kind of leads into another thing that helped me lose the weight: ditching all of the justifications and excuses for avoiding honest, objective, mathematical self-evaluation. If you're not happy with how you look or how you feel, you're not doing yourself any favors by throwing all of those charts and calculators out the window just because they're not perfectly custom-tailored to you.

Yeah, the BMI chart can't tell you what your perfect weight is. But for the average person, it can give you a great starting point. Forget about "ideal" and just shoot for the upper end of statistically "normal." You can re-evaluate once you get there.

The idea of working out for general non-specific things like "health" and "fitness" is all well and good, but for most people that won't get you nearly as far as setting a concrete goal - even if that goal ends up being tweaked later on.

The one thing I've started changing is what I eat. I saw an article on 100daysofrealfood.com that showed the ingredients in products like a can of pringles in USA vs the UK and learned that the fda really doesn't do the best job. There are several products in our "food" that are banned, illegal or require a warning label in other industrialized countries, but in the USA the fda is persuaded by the food industry to say "eat less of..." Instead of " don't eat..." It made me realize that I needed to start protecting my family if the fda wasn't going to be doing that. So now we have started following the food rules on that same blog. I also love foodbabe.com I've watched food inc and genetic roulette and I'm reading Michael pollans books. I've learned a ton and its pretty disturbing. I use to think eating organic was being a little paranoid, but now I know that it isn't a crazy conspiracy theory. Just think about it, the makers of pringles want you to eat their product and buy a lot of it...so they have scientists doing stuff to the food that tricks your mind and body and makes you addicted to the foods and excite your brain when you eat them.
Now that we eat more gmo and preservative free foods, I feel sooooo much better, I've lost weight and I have more energy which helps me get into better shape because I move around more. I get better sleep and my daughter stopped having temper tantrums! Learn more about the foods you are eating. Look into the history of food, how what we eat has changed so drastically along with our health.

I lost 100 pounds recently, some of my motivation was seeing my mom and grandma, and wanting to live a longer life than I expect they will.

I used weight watchers, and then switched to the paleo diet. Being diagnosed and treated for my hypothyroid really helped, too.

My original weight stats:215 pounds5'1" tallBMI: 40.6

My current weight stats:112 pounds5'1" tallBMI: 21.2

Good luck on your journey! I recommend weight watchers 100%, it works well, and I have heard that if you eat all the points available to you, you're more likely to keep the weight off in the long run, too. I've been maintaining 112-115 (depending on cycle) since August of last year. I hope I can continue to do that, but this summer has been hard.

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"I must create a system or be enslaved by another mans; I will not reason and compare: my business is to create." - William Blake

I agree BMI is a good starting point, for sure. What I was thinking of before is how mine says I'm overweight but I am healthier now than I have ever been in my life. Compared to my current weight, I've also weighed 30lbs more(post partum), and I've also weighed 50lbs less(high school). 50lbs less than what I am now is considered healthy for my height but I was NOT healthy at that weight. I had a borderline eating disorder and still filled my body with crap, I just exercised nonstop since I was in competitive sports.

Now I eat healthy and I understand the role of balance in my life, physically and emotionally. I am worlds happier now and my body feels great.

Goal setting is absolutely essential to losing weight and making life changes. It just doesn't HAVE to be a specific number on the BMI, is all I'm saying.

I'm considered "obese" at 5'2" and currently 170 pounds. I have lost 20 pounds over the last 2 months, but am not yet considered "overweight". I did go from a size 16 to a size 12. I have a weight goal in mind, but am more interested in how I look and feel.

I lost my weight by joining Curves. They have a plan called Curves Complete that includes access to their exercise machines, an eating plan, and a weekly meeting with a coach. It's been great for me.